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Breaking News Iran Chief Rabbi Yosef Hamadani Cohen Dies at 98
The chief rabbi of Iran, Rabbi Yosef Hamadani Cohen, has died. The rabbi died over the weekend and was buried in Iran on Sunday, the Hebrew-language website Kikar Shabbat reported, citing the rabbi’s nephew bearing the same name, who lives in Israel. The rabbi’s death was announced by the representative of the Iranian Jews in…
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Breaking News 49% of Israelis Say Accept Reform, Conservative
Nearly half of Israelis surveyed said Israel’s Chief Rabbinate should officially recognize Reform and Conservative Judaism. In the survey of 500 adults, 49 percent “strongly feel that the Chief Rabbinate should officially recognize the Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism,” Walla.com reported, because this “will in turn strengthen the connection with American Jews.” The poll,…
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Breaking News Danish Zoo Killings Denounced by Rabbi as Hypocritical Amid Slaughter Ban
A Danish zoo’s slaying of healthy animals proves that animal welfare concerns are a false justification for Denmark’s recent ban on ritual slaughter, a prominent European rabbi charged. Citing the need to make room for new animals and prevent inbreeding, the Copenhagen Zoo killed four healthy lions earlier this week and a healthy giraffe last…
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Israel News Do Orthodox Rabbi Groups Hold Too Much Sway Over Conversion — in Israel and U.S.?
(JTA) — Even if you converted to Judaism under Orthodox auspices, your conversion may be called into question by the Israeli Chief Rabbinate and the Rabbinical Council of America, the main centrist Orthodox rabbinical group in the United States. If you live in Israel, this means your ability to marry a Jew is in jeopardy….
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Breaking News Russia Chief Rabbi Berel Lazar Slams Vladimir Putin’s Critics
Berel Lazar, a chief rabbi of Russia, criticized Ukrainian Jewish leaders for condemning Moscow’s actions in Ukraine. “The Jewish community should not be the one sending messages to President Barack Obama about his policy or to President Putin or to any other leader,” Lazar said Monday during a joint interview with JTA and The Jewish…
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News Rabbi Performs Controversial Metzitzah B’Peh Circumcision Rite — Law or No
After cutting off the infant’s foreskin, Rabbi Avrohom Cohn leaned down toward the baby boy who was cradled on a white pillow atop his grandfather’s knee. Standing fully over the child, with his back to the dozens of immaculately dressed guests at the Syrian Jewish gathering in Brooklyn, it was impossible to see what Cohn…
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Opinion Partnership Minyan and the Egalitarian Threat
Mainstream Orthodoxy has been taking pains to publicize its disapproval of partnership minyanim, Orthodox prayer groups where women lead some of the prayers and read from the Torah. Yeshiva University threatened to withhold ordination of a graduating student who held a partnership minyan in his home. Large, leading Orthodox institutions like the Orthodox Union and…
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Life Single Mother and Rabbi
Courtesy of Diva Communications// Rabbi Felicia Sol with her children The new film, “All of the Above,”, explores what happens when a single, Jewish clergy member wants to become a mother. The documentary, produced by Diva Communications, features interviews with Rabbi Lisa Gelber, an associate dean, at the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Rabbinical School, Rabbi Julie…
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